Single-Qubit Error Mitigation by Simulating Non-Markovian Dynamics.

Quantum simulation is a powerful tool to study the properties of quantum systems. The dynamics of open quantum systems are often described by completely positive (CP) maps, for which several quantum simulation schemes exist. Such maps, however, represent only a subset of a larger class of maps: the general dynamical maps which are linear, Hermitian preserving, and trace preserving but not necessarily positivity preserving. Here we present a simulation scheme for these general dynamical maps, which occur when the underlying system-reservoir model undergoes entangling (and thus non-Markovian) dynamics. Such maps also arise as the inverse of CP maps, which are commonly used in error mitigation. We illustrate our simulation scheme on an IBM quantum processor, demonstrating its ability to recover the initial state of a Lindblad evolution. This paves the way for a novel form of quantum error mitigation. Our scheme only requires one ancilla qubit as an overhead and a small number of one and two qubit gates. Consequently, we expect it to be of practical use in near-term quantum devices.

Quantum trajectory framework for general time-local master equations.

Master equations are one of the main avenues to study open quantum systems. When the master equation is of the Lindblad-Gorini-Kossakowski-Sudarshan form, its solution can be "unraveled in quantum trajectories" i.e., represented as an average over the realizations of a Markov process in the Hilbert space of the system. Quantum trajectories of this type are both an element of quantum measurement theory as well as a numerical tool for systems in large Hilbert spaces. We prove that general time-local and trace-preserving master equations also admit an unraveling in terms of a Markov process in the Hilbert space of the system. The crucial ingredient is to weigh averages by a probability pseudo-measure which we call the "influence martingale". The influence martingale satisfies a 1d stochastic differential equation enslaved to the ones governing the quantum trajectories. We thus extend the existing theory without increasing the computational complexity.

Large deviations and fluctuation theorem for the quantum heat current in the spin-boson model.

We study the heat current flowing between two baths consisting of harmonic oscillators interacting with a qubit through a spin-boson coupling. An explicit expression for the generating function of the total heat flowing between the right and left baths is derived by evaluating the corresponding Feynman-Vernon path integral by performing the noninteracting blip approximation (NIBA). We recover the known expression, obtained by using the polaron transform. This generating function satisfies the Gallavotti-Cohen fluctuation theorem, both before and after performing the NIBA. We also verify that the heat conductance is proportional to the variance of the heat current, retrieving the well-known fluctuation dissipation relation. Finally, we present numerical results for the heat current.